If you thought you were out of luck to qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program because you were enrolled in graduated or extended repayment plans — Congress recently did you a favor.

Forbes.com reports that as part of the new federal spending bill, $350 million has been authorized to the Department of Education to offer forgiveness to all student loan borrowers who have a loan from the Direct program, have made all payments in full and on time, and have worked 10 years in a public service job for a qualifying employer.

The only catch? The funds will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis until the money runs out — which could be pretty quickly given the many newly eligible recipients. The application process will begin in about 60 days, at the end of May.

The PSLF was established in 2007 to allow student loan borrowers who pursue government or non-profit public service jobs to wipe out their remaining debt after 10 years of on-time payments. Of the eight repayment plans available to borrowers, only four of them were generally eligible for PSLF, and many debtors picked a non-qualifying plan — sometimes receiving bad advice from a loan servicer.

After years of timely payments, these debtors learned their prior payments would not qualify, and there was no way to go back and retroactively fix the error. In one of the most prominent cases, a teacher in Eugene, Oregon found out after paying back $70,000 to the government under the wrong repayment plan, he would have to switch plans and start over if he wanted to get his loans forgiven.

We have a new sister website dedicated to Student Loan Debt Resolution. Please visit San Diego Student Loan Lawyer for more information regarding options for management and settlement of your student loan debt.

Last week the U.S. Department of Education announced their latest move to assist some individuals with financially debilitating student loan debt. This part of the Obama Student Aid Bill of Rights, is directed at hundreds of thousands of borrowers who are permanently disabled and cannot work. The Department of Education started sending out letters this week to student loan borrowers that have been identified, with the help of the Social Security Administration, as receiving disability payments and are eligible to have their student loans discharged. This type of student loan relief is known as a “Total and Permanent Disability” loan discharge. There were 387,000 permanently disabled individuals identified, with nearly half of these currently in student loan default, as qualifying with an estimated $7.7 billion in student loans.

In a statement, Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell said, “Too many eligible borrowers were falling through the cracks, unaware they were eligible for relief.” He added, "Americans with disabilities have a right to student loan relief. And we need to make it easier, not harder, for them to receive the benefits they are due." These statements are tantamount to an admission that many student loan borrowers, whom are eligible for student loan debt relief or forgiveness, never receive the assistance they are due under the law. Many times, borrowers who are legally due student loan forgiveness, spend years petitioning, but never achieve final discharge.

If you need help understanding or applying for student loan debt relief, you’re not alone. An attorney who specializes in student loan debt relief can be of enormous help and get you the relief you deserve. Try calling Chris Bush, the San Diego Student Loan Lawyer, at (619) 295-3322 for a free initial consultation.

We have a new sister website dedicated to Student Loan Debt Resolution. Please visit San Diego Student Loan Lawyer for more information regarding options for management and settlement of your student loan debt.